The success and safety of interventional magnetic
resonance imaging (iMRI) procedures require conspicuous intravascular
instruments that can be distinguished from surrounding tissues. We have
developed an active two channel guidewire that incorporates individual channels
to provide superior distal tip and whole shaft visibility simultaneously under
real time iMRI. The guidewire visibility and handling were evaluated during in
vitro phantom imaging and in vivo real-time MRI-guided vascular access
experiments in swine. Also mechanical properties (torquability, tip
flexibility, pushability) of the guidewire prototype were compared in several
bench-top evaluations with representative 0.035 commercially-available
guidewires.